Titan Quest (Switch) Review

I started playing Titan Quest right around the time I viewed the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans (stay with me here), which resulted in noticing some stark similarities between the two. Both have intros that borrow heavily thematically from the Lord of the Rings movies that were popular at the time. Both are using that structure to apply a new coat of paint to something old and beloved. Where Clash of the Titans uses that movie as a template to remake the original and pay homage to Greek myth, Titan Quest appends itself to the skeleton of the Diablo franchise, just with a mythological flavor.

This is an action RPG through and through. You’ll traverse the world in an isometric view, killing mobs of enemies, leveling up, collecting armor and weapons that boost stats as you progress so you can take down stronger mobs, and speak with NPCs to accept/complete quests. The local multiplayer option with a good co-op partner can elevate your experience, which I’d highly recommend if you decide to give Titan Quest a chance. I had less luck with online multiplayer matchmaking, as each time I chose a random person to queue with, the game simply stuck me where I last saved, rather than creating a space for us to congregate or give direction. You may have more luck if you and a friend attempt to do so, rather than trying to join with a stranger.

Your character auto-attacks nearby enemies if you hold the button, but you can direct the attack with the analog stick and a purple cone will appear on land to show the direction which your attack will go next. A good idea that doesn’t work consistently in practice because the character will regularly be frozen in movement two or three seconds after killing an enemy before moving on to the next. That usually leaves you open to attack, so your survivability depends mostly on kiting enemies from the larger mob and picking them off one-by-one to prevent these input lags from impacting the outcome.

What’s also striking is how muddy and blurry the world appears, and how lacking in detail the characters in the world have. This game is a port of a game released in 2007 that is cribbing off of a game released in 2000, but it’s missing the detail, flair, and polish of the standard-bearer it’s based off of. The bit of voice acting is particularly bad, with uneven delivery from voice actors with the quality of a high school production, and jarring sounding animal brays with each beast that approaches you in battle that is nothing but grating.

Titan Quest at its core isn’t a bad experience, if because of how apparent its influences are. There’s fun to be had from the mechanics of a Diablo game set in a Greek mythology universe with its gods and monsters rather than exploring the depths of hell. It’s clear though that its inspiration is also where its limitations lie, and they painted over cracks in the foundation that are showing through. And like Clash of the Titans, Titan Quest has a story, setting, and characters that end up being completely forgettable. That said, it fills a gap in the genre offerings on Switch, and if you’re looking for something to scratch that itch until something more recent gets announced, it’ll fit the bill.